Chapter 2.
Diagon Alley
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August 15th
I glanced up above me, my eyes grazing over the square sign.
'THE LEAKY CAULDRON'
The fancy golden letters draped around the sign behind a black cauldron, up against a gold background. The sign looked ancient as small bits peeled off carelessly.
"A leaky cauldrons bad, why would you name the entrance to Diagon Alley something like that?" I quizzed dad, confusion overcoming my face as my brows knitted together.
Dad laughed lightly, we had both been waiting for this day for years.
"I don't know Rose, good question." He shook his head slightly, his smile permanent on his face as we began walking towards the door.
I slowly stepped in behind dad, my eyes skating over the packed pub. A cheery vibrance filled the air as everyone gleamed joyfully. That was until, dad and I entered. Eyes glued to dad, and then to me, then back to dad. I made slight eye contact with a couple, their beady eyes filled with confusion and doubt.
"What?" Dad hissed, his snappy voice menacing the crowd.
I always knew people were afraid of my dad, but I never actually found out why. As far as I could tell, he was lovely and by far the best person that I had ever known.
A few seconds after dad had spoken, the customers quickly turned back to their drinks and returned to their cheery state. I exhaled, suddenly feeling the tenseness that my body had filled with, quickly letting it all out. Dad slowly walked towards an empty table, his black shoes meeting the wooden floor with loud taps, his black robe flowing behind him. I shuffled behind him, lowering myself into the seat across from the one dad was in. I immediately felt out of place. After all, I was dressed in black jeans and a black t-shirt, everyone else seemed dressed appropriately for the occasion, all in loose robes or fancy collared shirts with leather waist coats. I was the only one to be wearing jeans.
"Are you excited?" Dad asked, snapping me out of my self-conscious thoughts.
"Yes," I confirmed, a smile gracing my lips as I remembered why we were here.
I was finally, after all these years, going to get my things for Hogwarts.
Dad returned a happy smile.
"What can I get you?" My eyes snapped towards a short man who stood wearily at the edge of our table.
He forced a smile, the nerves inside him clearly showing. His milky white hair stuck out frantically, wrinkles dropping down his face dramatically as he held out a note pad with a feathers quill in his shaky hands.
"The usual for me, Primrose?" Dad spoke, his eyes glancing to me as he nodded towards the menu placed neatly on the table.
I picked it up, scanning it over in search of a cold beverage, pretending not to listen to the few words of dialect between my dad and the waiter.
"You never told me you have a daughter?" The man asked and I noticed how the rest of the bar began peeking their ears up and listening in as well as me.
"I didn't think it was any of your business, Tom," Dad growled, his deep voice darkening as he glared daggers at the man in front.
"You're right, I apologize, sir," he stuttered, adding a quick 'sir' into the end.
Dad was a professor but I knew that didn't mean that other adults had to call him 'sir'. It highlighted both the fear and respect that was aimed at my dad.
"Can I have the Tongue Tying Lemon Squash please?" I chimed, folding the menu and handing it to the waiter.
"Of course!" The man grinned, I let out a small laugh as his facial expression changed from fear to happiness.
He quickly shuffled away, back to the counter to make our drinks. Not long after, the same man returned placing a small cup of yellow liquid with three ice cubes in front of me and a larger cup of what I assumed was butterbeer in front of dad.
I lifted the glass to my mouth, as soon as the liquid dropped into my mouth, my tongue tingled with the sensational tastes.
"Lives up to its name, huh?" Dad chuckled watching my reaction carefully as he began sipping his own beverage.
I nodded in response, unable to speak as I quickly swallowed the drink down my throat.
"Fancy seeing you here, Severus," I glanced to my right, my eyes coming in contact with two unfamiliar people.
They were clearly related as the younger boy, who looked just around my age, resembled the man almost identically. Both their hair was an abnormal blonde colour so bright that it made my eyes squint. Their pale skin displayed their sharp jaw lines flawlessly. The younger boys silver eyes gleamed into mine, studying myself carefully.
They looked so much alike, as much as dad and I do.
"Hello, Lucius," Dad spoke, his eyes were full of wonder as he attached them to the younger boy.
I could practically cut the tension in here with a knife as the rest of the room fell silent, watching us curiously, for the second time today.
"This is Draco, my son." The older man, who I had gathered names was Lucius, declared confidently, his long hair sweeping to the side as he nodded his head to the boy.
"Primrose, my daughter," Dad replied, introducing me.
"Nice to meet you, Primrose." Lucius thin lips carved into a smile, however, my gaze was more focused on the boy, Draco.
"We better be going," dad spoke, lifting himself on the creaky chair, I did the same, pushing my chair in neatly.
Lucius nodded in response, I quickly tore my gaze away from Draco and onto my dad who was now up at the counter paying for our beverages.
"I suspect we'll be seeing more of each other, Primrose," Draco narrowed his beady eyes.
I tilted my head in confusion, but just as I was about to respond, dad called me away.
I nodded towards them both and left them to join dad who was now standing at a smaller wooden door.
That was my very first encounter with Draco Malfoy.
"Who was that?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me as usual.
"That was Lucius and Draco Malfoy, Draco should be in your year. I would prefer it if you didn't socialize with them. They're dangerous and I don't want you getting involved with their 'ways'. By staying away from them, you can't get on their wrong side." Dad warned, pushing the wooden door open with his right hand.
I simply nodded in response. I was curious about who they were already, and dad saying to stay away only enticed me more.
The door opened, revealing a breezy courtyard, closed off my bricks on either side.
"What are we doing here?" I asked, eyes scanning the place for any purpose, but all that was here was a couple of wooden barrels.
Dad said nothing but instead pulled out his mysterious wand. He grasped it tightly before tapping it against a couple of bricks, he seemed to do it so specifically that it must've been in some sort of order.
After a second or two had passed, the bricks began pushing around each other. My eyes attached to the wall as it jumbled up, eventually forming an entrance.
"This Primrose is Diagon Alley," Dad revealed, glancing forewords.
Rows of shops and pubs decorated either side of me with various things outside of them. The cobblestone ground was almost invisible as thousands of witches and wizards covered it. Bursts of colour laced every person, owls darting over us. I covered my mouth with my hand in an attempt to shield my gasp of surprise.
"Come on kiddo," dad laughed amused at my reaction.
I nodded, immediately noticing that dad and I were the only ones dressed in full black. It suited us well though, dark, mysterious, and feared by others. The only glint of colour that radiated off us was our pale skin, making our hair and eyes seem even more impossibly blacker.
"Right, first, we need your wand," Dad spoke, excitement lacing his tone but he tried to cover it.
"Where would we get that?" I asked, eyes tottering along with all the mysterious shops that seemed to specialize in particularly odd items.
Some I was familiar with, as I was fairly educated already in potions I recognized most equipment in that area. After all, dad was the Potions Master of Hogwarts. Some other objects were unfamiliar, however. I brushed my thoughts aside and tuned into my dad's voice.
"Ollivanders Wands of course," Dad spoke, already walking off in a certain direction.
I scuttled through the crowd, never leaving my eyes off dad, although I so desperately just wanted to stare at all the different places and absorb them into my mind and memory.
Eventually, we reached our destination. I scanned the sign carefully, taking in the faded gold writing.
'OLLIVANDERS WANDS
MAKERS OF FINE WANDS SINCE 382 B.C'
I followed dad quickly into Ollivanders.
Shelves of wands filled the shop, all the way from the floor, reaching the roof, wand boxes sat messily on top of one another.
"No, it can't be! Severus Snape?!" An old man stumbled out from behind a shelf full of wands.
His smoky grey hair matched his fluffy eyebrows that sat untidily on top of his gentle blue eyes. He dressed in a large red cloak that rested lightly behind him as he walked.
"Hello Ollivander," dad spoke, a genuine smile overcoming his face as he saw the man.
"I haven't seen you in years! Since you bought that wand when you were just 11 years old! Gosh, it's been ages..." the rambling man trailed off, his eyes finally setting on me.
"This is my daughter, Primrose Snape," dad spoke, linking his arm around my shoulders.
The man gasped, quickly coming towards me, his wrinkly hands placed at the side of my arms, I gave him a nervous smile.
"Hello, dear Primrose! Your father is a very old friend of mine! I suppose you are here for your first wand?" He trailed off, excitement gleaming in his eyes.
I nodded uncertainly, I had just met this man. However, he was a friend of dads so there was nothing to be worried about really.
"I am," I confirmed, confidence sliding into me.
"Oh! You look just like your father! Here let me go get a couple of wands..." Ollivander trailed off, scuttling away behind some bookshelves.
He quickly returned, with three wand boxes in his grasp. He placed them all on his counter, quickly taking the lids off.
The first had a brown shade with swirls curling around it.
The second one, a white wand with black loops draping around it.
The third one caught my eye, a black one, crooked slightly with distinct patterns carved neatly into the wood.
Ollivanders followed my gaze.
"Aha! Thought so!" He grinned pulling it out and placing it gently in my hands.
"Now, swish and flick." He ordered, which I obeyed.
The wand fit perfectly in my small hand, I could feel the power leaking out of it and spilling into my veins.
I moved the wand in a swift motion, and immediately a stray box that was left scattered in the floor picked itself up and was neatly placed back into a wall of wands.
"Your wand has chosen you," Ollivander grinned, hope filling his eyes.
I placed the object back into the black velvet box gently.
"Right, made from ebony wood and a single unicorn hair core, the wand reaches 9 1/2 inches making it reasonably supple flexibility. That'll be 5 galleons," Ollivander finished.
Snape nodded, taking out his wallet. He fished out 5 golden circles and handed them into Olliavnders hands.
"Thank you," I beamed brightly up at dad, he smiled down at me as he took my wand, placing the box lid back over it and putting it in what I assumed was a pocket in his cloak.
"Stay in touch Severus!" Ollivander beamed as we left the shop.
"Maybe," dad chuckled, stepping beside me.
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We had successfully got everything on the list. All of my books, robes, a telescope, a winter cloak, a pair of protective gloves and one witch hat. Because of dad being a potions teacher, he had taught me a couple of things over the years. Thus meaning that I was already equipped with a cauldron, phials and brass scales of my own. We had located a large cage from the side of the street, almost like a shopping cart which contained our buyings.
"Right, one more place to go," dad let out an exhausted sigh.
It was quickly becoming night and the street was emptying, but still busy. I was beginning to grow tired as well as dad due to all of the excitement and thrill from the day.
"Where's that?" I asked quizzically, sure that we had got everything.
"Magical Menagerie, of course, you still need a pet of your choice," dad grinned, practically feeling the joy that radiated off of me as he spoke.
I beamed brightly as we pushed into a cramped shop. Cages lined the walls as various animals howled in delight as a new customer entered. An old lady stood tiredly at the counter, a golden snake draped around her shoulders.
"Oh hello!" She forced a smile, clearly bone-tired.
She seemed to be one of the very few people who didn't recognize my dad.
"Hello," dad spoke in a low voice, his eerie vibe filling the room.
"What can I do for you two," the women smiled, fear washing over her face as my dad looked around, shifting uncomfortably.
"I need a pet for school," I said sheepishly, deciding to be more independent and not wanting to rely on my dad for everything that I do.
The women's eyes gleamed in interest.
"Alright, so I suspect you'll be needing either an owl, a cat or a toad." She grinned, we hand caressing the snakes skin.
"A cat, definitely." My lips curved into a smile as my eyes twinkled in delight.
"Alright, this is our wonderful selection," she chuckled at my enthusiasm as she pointed towards a row of cats, all scrambling around in their cages.
My eyes traced over the rows repeatedly, but they kept stopping on one. The cat stared back at me, large blue eyes watching me closely. They seemed to be the only one that was completely still, sat neatly with their tale flicking behind them. The colours drew me even further as I instantly recognized it to be a Siamese cat. I let my feet guide me over to it, a smile gracing my lips. I swear the cat smiled back at me, but I might be insane.
"This one, please," I confirmed watching their chest rise and deflate.
The women nodded and quickly pulled out the cage. The other cats howled in disappointment this time as they all slumped down, fed up. She carried my new cat over to the counter.
"She is a Siamese kitten, came all the way from Thailand and is just one year old. Well behaved, which is strange for a cat, but lovely nonetheless." She smiled letting her fingers crawl over the cat's fur.
"How much?" Dad asked as he lingered his eyes on the animal suspiciously.
He never really was one for animals.
"8 galleons," she smiled weakly.
After all of the shopping, I was beginning to learn about the different amounts of money.
Dad passed her the payment, and in return, she pushed the cage towards me. I grasped it tightly, afraid to drop it and hurt my new friend.
We walked along the now empty streets of Diagon Alley, on our way home. I had let my cat out of her cage and she was now resting on my shoulder, somehow grasping on as I walked.
"What's her name?" Dad asked his finger grazing across the cats head, who let out a small purr in response.
"Eva," I grinned, she seemed to love it as she rubbed her head along mine as soon as I mentioned her new name.
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